UPDATE, Aug. 26, 2010: Well, last night I tried steaming the mugs as an alternative to using a microwave-- it was a flop, I'm afraid! For one thing, it ended up taking 18 minutes steaming time, which kind of defeats the whole exercise of a 5-minute cake! But, perhaps more importantly, it didn't rise and get fluffy like the original. It was, as the British say, "stodge"-- yuck! Sorry, no solution there.

I thought about pressure cooking, but it might be more trouble than it's worth, with the getting up to pressure, cooling down, etc. Anyway, I'm "between" pressure cookers at the moment, so I can't try it. If anyone does try it, and succeeds, please let us know!

(BTW, for anyone who is wary of microwave ovens, I have compiled some info in a Google doc: Read here.)

***********************************************My youngest daughter, Justine, gave me a challenge yesterday. Devise a Weight Watcher-friendly, preferably vegan, 5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake. I vaguely remembered hearing about this cake before, but hadn't looked into it. So, I set about meeting her challenge. I looked up various recipes and comments on the recipes, first of all. Then I set to work. I wanted it to be vegan, of course, no-fat (except for a very few chocolate chips), and whole grain, but also nicely chocolate-y and slightly gooey.

We tried 2 of my versions last night-- one was too dry, so we didn't eat it! I was pretty happy with the other version, though. I ultimately made it in smaller servings than the original cake-- the larger size was too big for a healthy snack. To refine the recipe, I made the ultimate sacrifice and had the final version for breakfast this morning! I must say, I'm happy with it! I hope you like it, too!

Quick, 3 WW points, gooey and satisfying! The ultimate quick chocolate hit (well, maybe second to Drinking Chocolate!). The chocolate chips sink to the bottom and make an “icing” on the bottom that you can scoop up with each bite of cake! (BTW, I tried removing the cake from the mug to a plate, but it doesn’t look very attractive and dirties another dish, so better to eat it right out of the mug!) See Variations below for Gluten-Free version.

Lightly spray two 1-cup mugs (such as cappuccino mugs), or 1-cup ramekins with oil from a pump sprayer.

In a small bowl mix together the Wet Mix ingredients well with a whisk.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together (with a dry whisk) the Dry Mix ingredients.

The ramekins in this picture are the right size to use for microwaving the cakes if you have no suitable mugs, BTW.

Pour the Dry Mix into the Wet Mix and whisk together well. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared mugs. Sprinkle1/2 tablespoon chocolate chips over the batter.

Microwave at High power for 1 minute, 10 seconds. (Note: My microwave is 1200 watts—if yours is less, you may need a few seconds more.)

Cool on a rack for at least 5 minutes. Eat right out of the mug or ramekin!

TIPS:

1.) If you have no leftover coffee, you can add 1 /2 teaspoon coffee or espresso powder to the water. 2.) Freeze canned or homemade applesauce in ice cube trays and pop the cubes into zipper-lock bags-- each one is 2 tablespoons!3.) For oat flour, just whiz rolled oats or quick oats in a DRY blender

Well, last night I tried steaming the mugs-- it was a flop, I'm afraid! For one thing, it ended up taking 18 minutes, which kind of defeats the whole exercise of a 5-minute cake! But, perhaps more importantly, it didn't rise and get fluffy like the original. It was, as the British say, "stodgy"-- yuck! Sorry, no solution there.

I thought about pressure cooking, but it might be more trouble than it's worth, with the getting up to pressure, cooling down, etc. Anyway, I'm "between" pressure cookers at the moment, so I can't try it.

(BTW,for anyone who is afraid of microwave ovens, I have compiled some info in a Google doc: http://tinyurl.com/2ecv9x2(Live link at end of blog post, before the recipe.)

I just made this - I needed a chocolate fix like nobody's business. This really hit the spot! I had to use oil b/c I was out of applesauce, but thank you so much for the awesome suggestion of keeping applesauce frozen in the freezer, that's an awesome idea and much more eco-friendly than those individual servings from the supermarket, since you can store the cubes in re-usable tupperware. Delish! :)

I would certainly not rely on anything Dr. Mercola has to say! He is part of the Weston A. Price contingent, for one thing (read about them here: http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/3476771.htm#weston

Dr. Joel Fuhrman has saved me the effort of compiling all of Mercola's nonsense-- read his article on Mercola here:http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/fuhrman_metabolics.htm

Because sometimes 5 minutes is too long :) I'm taking a crack at making a "bulk" dry mix with the dry ingredients and brown sugar in it...have you tried this at all? I was thinking if I quarduple everything I should be able to use 1/4 cup of the dry mix per mug and get 8 mugs out of the equation...

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